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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29494440">Mantrin Imperial Guard – 003 The Infinite Depths of Space</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter06/pseuds/Specter06'>Specter06</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mantrin Imperial Guard [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Titan AE (2000)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Expanded Universe, Gen, Gun Violence, Mantrins, Science Fiction, Space Battles, Spaceships, Stith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:40:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,132</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29494440</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter06/pseuds/Specter06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When two of the galaxy's most advanced races are on the verge of activating the first intergalactic jump gate, Raeth and crew are there to witness this incredible event. Meanwhile, Raeth is fed up with Jirro's bad temper and inconsiderate behavior toward the rest of the crew and decides to force him to make his choice: Be part of the team or make room for somebody else.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mantrin Imperial Guard [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831597</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Giants</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Imperial Guard – 003 The Infinite Depths of Space</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>The galaxy isn't what you'd call a friendly place. Some situations require what I describe as special treatment. My crew and I have been selected to handle these cases in the name of the Emperor. For we serve the most powerful military organization in the quadrant: The Imperial Guard.</em>
</p><h1>Chapter 1 Giants</h1><p> </p><p>With no one around, Nami didn’t even bother to suppress a yawn as she stepped off the elevator platform on deck two, on her way to her quarters. The <em>Myr’shala</em> followed a route that took the ship into the densely populated galactic core and it would still take a few cycles to reach its destination. After a rather uneventful shift, she decided to catch a nap before their arrival, having a handful of cycles left to kill.</p><p>Until she reached the door of her and Moa’s quarters and noticed the glowing white symbols forming the text “do not disturb” under its brushed metal surface. With her hand hovering above the door controls in a moment of indecision she wondered why her roommate would use this function. Despite a swift recovery, the illness Moa contracted on Hanaweya II had left her with moments of fatigue and as a result she caught rest more often and slept for longer periods. However, she hadn’t noticed her using the function before.</p><p>Expecting her friend in bed with the lights out, she was a little surprised to find her sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room between the beds on a floor pillow, with her back turned toward the door. The only light was provided by a circle of small pyramid-shaped candles in front of her. Having removed her uniform top, and with the longer parts of her hair put up into a knot and held together by a clasp, Nami could spot the circle of black symbols tattooed on her back. She sat there motionless, in what looked like a kind of meditative state, although her ears flicked when she heard the sounds of her roommate’s entering.</p><p>“<em>Uiisa</em>,” Nami whispered. “I didn’t mean to disturb you. If you need more time I’ll come back later.”</p><p>“Siddown,” Moa said in an inviting, yet firm way.</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>“I mean it. Grab the other pillow and siddown.”</p><p>With the door closing behind her, Nami tried to determine the best way to reach the space across her roommate without knocking over any of the candles or the objects placed within the circle of light. Because of the ample space between the beds, and Moa’s position in the middle of their quarters, this was doable, provided she slipped past the edge of her own bunk.</p><p>Using her long triple-jointed legs to her advantage, she stepped past Moa and her no longer private ceremony, to the other side. Grabbing the other floor pillow next to the low seating table, she placed it on the floor across her friend, careful not to blow out any candles. After lowering herself on the pillow in a similar cross-legged position, she noticed Moa was still in her trance-like state. She had her eyes closed, her arms resting on her thighs and her clawed hands in an open and relaxed state.</p><p>Having been invited to take part in a ritual, she decided to mirror her friend and took off her own uniform top and bra which she tossed on her bed. It was very quiet in their quarters. Apart from the hum of the ship’s quantum drive, she could only hear the calm and steady rhythm of hers and Moa’s breathing. Until her friend spoke a few words on a soft tone in <em>Huna</em>, the most common traditional Fjetanha language.</p><p>“<em>Kinayalah aesenni ey disparann. Huhnele ona saleh.</em>”</p><p>Nami was unsure what to do. She figured if Moa expected her to do anything she would tell. The words were not unknown to her, but the ritual was. In contrast to Moa, she grew up in a modern setting, although she did have relatives who led a more traditional lifestyle. Two women sharing the same cultural heritage, split into very different directions. Even their appearance differed enough for them not to be mistaken for sisters. They did share the signature Fjetanha traits such as their long hair, black beak and strong hands with sharp claws that were not fully retractable. Her two-tone gray skin color was a stark difference from Moa’s overall tan brown, with a lighter shade for her neck, belly and part of her chest.</p><p>Moa took a deep breath, inhaling through her nose, then slowly expelling the air through her mouth. Continuing her calm manner of speech, she spoke again.</p><p>“<em>I thank you, Kirliya the Enlightened for watching over my loved ones and me during a moment of great peril. I shall find ways to repay you for this benevolent gesture.</em>”</p><p>Placing the palm of her hand on top of the Na’ganthur’s tooth of Norgu’s necklace, which hung between her small round breasts, she took another breath before finally opening her eyes. In the meantime, Nami had studied the objects placed within the circle of candles, recognizing them as the tangible equivalent of the six symbols tattooed on Moa’s back, put in six white marble bowls.</p><p>Taking her hand off her chest Moa began to speak in <em>Huna</em> again, this time placing her hand on one of the bowls. This bowl was empty, but the symbol marking its bottom was the same as on her back. Its meaning was the element ‘air’. Continuing to speak, she moved her hand to the next one which was filled with a black powdery substance that produced a dim yellow flame. As she held her hand above the bowl, she flinched for a tick, yet she persisted to speak the right words.</p><p>The next bowl contained two bone pieces, resembling death. Its symbol was visible on the bottom between them. Earth was symbolized by a bowl filled with soil and after it came water. She finished the circle by resting her palm on a bowl of seeds from different plants. Folding her hands afterwards in a closing gesture, she finished the ritual with a few more words of gratitude. Nami still wasn’t sure why Moa asked her to join her in this ritual, because she didn’t ask her to do anything, but after a final moment of silence, her friend looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.</p><p>“<em>Hyami</em>. For sharing this with me.”</p><p>“Well, I… I’m honored.”</p><p>“Computer, lights.” After blowing out the candles one by one Moa closed off all the bowls with lids, except for water and air. The fire she extinguished with a pinch of a white powder from a small canister she retrieved from the wooden box placed on top of her bed in which she kept everything together. “Computer, reenable fire suppression protocols for this quarters.”</p><p>“Fire suppression protocols reactivated.”</p><p>While Moa put away her belongings and emptied the bowl with the water in the bathroom, Nami returned the floor pillows to their previous location on opposite sides of the table and exchanged her uniform for a sleep shirt.</p><p>“I’m going to catch some sleep if you don’t mind,” Nami said, lying down and throwing the covers over her body.</p><p>Like her roommate, she preferred to sleep in a cool room in combination with a weighty blanket, although Moa preferred to wear as few clothes as possible.</p><p>“Not at all. I think I might do the same.”</p><p>Added the deed to her word, Moa removed her uniform pants and untied her hair.</p><p>“How do you feel? Still tired?”</p><p>Sitting down on her bed in only her underwear she responded with soft groan.</p><p>“Hmm, yeah. Salu says it’ll go over, but it might take a while. Aside from that I feel fine though.”</p><p>Nami smiled.</p><p>“Okay, sleep well then.”</p><p>“You too.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Ship’s log, Raeth, House of Meztar. The <em>Myr’shala</em> has arrived in the Ophelion system after Command received a message sent to all spacefaring races across three quadrants. The system itself holds little of interest. Next to two gas giants, the three barren worlds orbiting its star are incapable of supporting life and might have been targets for colonization projects if they had orbited closer to the Ophelion star or held any mining value.”</p><p>Standing in front of the large viewport in his ready room to make his recording, Raeth gazed into the distance at the colossal structure obscuring part of the bright yellow Ophelion star. The construction, used for capturing part of the star’s energy output, was part of a much more ambitious project.</p><p>“Two of the most advanced races in the universe have reached out to report on the completion of the first intergalactic jump gate, fueled by their thirst for knowledge and desire to go further than any of us have ever gone before.</p><p>The first of these are the Hytharians, a benevolent race of intelligent machines, their technological prowess unmatched by any other known species. The second is known under several names, the most common being Xhi’tha. They are best described as advanced fungoid lifeforms that come in many different forms and communicate telepathically. The creatures, their ships, even their technology is entirely organic in nature and supposedly alive. They are both so unlike us in every perceivable way.</p><p>I am awaiting the arrival of a Hytharian envoy as we approach the Ophelion trade hub. Powered by the solar collector around the Ophelion star, a courtesy of them, the station has become one of the largest business centers in the quadrant. Not surprising, for the Ophelion system is considered neutral ground and its location puts it close to the galactic core.”</p><p>Raeth wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Both the Hytharian Unity, as the whole of their kind was called, and the Xhi’tha did not often seek active contact with other lifeforms unless it was in their own interest. In their message they had promised to explain their intentions to anyone willing to come to the Ophelion system. It was the main reason for the busy trade hub to be even more overcrowded than usual, with many worlds trying to ensure their presence at this incredible event.</p><p>Le’tan had maneuvered the <em>Myr’shala</em> around the station for a position at one of the massive docking rings attached to the sprawling complex that made up the trade station, awaiting final clearance. Larger vessels had to make do with a holding position and were only allowed to send smaller craft.</p><p>The heavy steps, audible through the closed doors of his ready room warned him in advance that Jirro had gotten the order to join his side for the meeting. When he turned around, his <em>Kaedar</em> already stood in front of his desk, the doors sliding shut when they made eye contact. His eyes were like pieces of emerald, and piercing as always, but he detected a bit of enthusiasm in Jirro’s voice.</p><p>“You wanted me present, Raeth.”</p><p>“Yes. To be honest, I don’t know what to expect.”</p><p>Walking around his desk, he joined Jirro in front of it, leaving plenty of room for visitors. And his <em>Kaedar</em> did not arrive a moment too soon.</p><p>“Bridge to Raeth.”</p><p>“Go ahead, Jetreycka.”</p><p>“The Hytharians have asked permission to transport one of their envoy constructs onboard. They thought it would be <em>appropriate</em> to warn us for their unconventional method of transportation.”</p><p>Raising an eye ridge at the same time as Jirro, he took a breath and braced instinctively, though he didn’t know for what.</p><p>“Tell ‘em we’re ready.”</p><p>After a short silence, Jetreycka confirmed. About five ticks passed after that. There was a bright flash in the middle of the room about two steps away from them. Tiny particles of light swirled around, coming together faster and faster, growing into a shape that took solid form. It happened in ticks and to their surprise, the particles took the shape of a Mantrin of average size as the light began to fade. What stood before them Raeth could only describe as something out of a work of science fiction.</p><p>A shiny metallic shell. A shape that mimicked his kind to perfection, including a tail that moved in a calm sweeping way and with fluid grace, as if made of liquid metal. Even the eyes, which had to be advanced optical sensors, were designed to look like real eyes, apart from the rotating irises as the machine analyzed its surroundings.</p><p>“Greetings,” it spoke with a male voice that approached that of a living, breathing person, yet with a slight electronic edge.</p><p>“Welcome,” Raeth replied with slight nod.</p><p>“We have chosen the form of his construct to ease communications between our two people. We had hoped that this would not be unsettling.”</p><p>Realizing that he was still trying to determine what he was looking at, with the matching expression on his face, Raeth suspected that the machine could analyze their behavior down to the smallest detail within a tick to decipher their intentions. There was no point in trying to hide it.</p><p>“To be honest, it is a little, though I’m glad you have not taken over a member of my crew to use as a conduit.”</p><p>“Honesty is a good trait. We have considered that possibility, but the method was too invasive. During future communications our constructs will take more flexible forms.”</p><p>“I’m Raeth, House of Meztar. This is my First Officer.”</p><p>“Jirro, House of Kezani.”</p><p>“Greetings, Raeth and Jirro. We have also established contact with other leading members of your kind, as well as all other leading entities present in the system. To avoid confusion, we ensure you that our intentions are non-hostile. We have requested your presence to witness the completion of our project. One of our hive worlds is present to oversee the activation sequence. If you have any further questions, we will answer them if it is within our knowledge.”</p><p>Hytharian hive worlds. Having abandoned their own home planet long ago, they had created these aptly-named moon-sized objects which were artificial mobile worlds in the shape of a perfect sphere. Their jump drives rendered the structures, that housed millions of constructs and unfathomable computational capability, capable of travelling enormous distances in the blink of an eye.</p><p>“<em>Mind-blowing,</em>” Raeth thought, having trouble deciding what to ask first.</p><p>It was an incredible opportunity to be able to freely ask such an advanced race anything. The amount of knowledge they had gathered over eons was far greater than most species in their comparably short spans of existence. But the first questions would have to be the necessary ones, to lift some concerns.</p><p>“What will happen upon activation of the gate?”</p><p>“If successful, the gate will synchronize with its counterpart, set up by our expeditionary taskforce in the M thirty-one galaxy. When stable, the gates will create a conduit for instantaneous travel between both points. We estimate it will take another eight-point-four-three cycles until activation.”</p><p>“Can we expect any side effects?”</p><p>“If all goes according to our design, the gates will create a conduit stable enough for travel. However, we are unable to compensate for all variables in advance. Even we cannot predict the precise outcome of this experiment.”</p><p><em>“Interesting answer,”</em> Raeth thought. It was somehow comforting to hear a race of such powerful beings admit that even they were not infallible. It was also a fitting answer for a race of intelligent machines. There was no such thing as one-hundred percent certainty. External influences for example were always a risk factor. <em>Although they were certainly one of the few races in the galaxy that could pull off something like this.</em></p><p>“What about the Xhi’tha? What do they get out of this?”</p><p>“The Xhi’tha are incredibly complex biological lifeforms. Their biotechnology makes up a significant portion of both gate constructs. In some regards it is even more efficient than our own. Like us, the Xhi’tha will attempt to travel through the gate to explore the other galaxy and expand their knowledge. We are both looking for more signs of the Ancients, the precursor civilizations that predate even our own kind by countless millennicycles.”</p><p><em>“So they’re after the technology of the Ancients</em>,<em>”</em> Raeth thought.</p><p>If that was the case they still had a long way to go. Remains and dormant pieces of Ancient tech had been found all over the galaxy. None of them were in a working state and even the galaxy’s most accomplished scientists and engineers had no idea how to interface with it to make it work. Their best theory was that the only way to operate it was for the user to possess Ancient DNA. In other words, the tech could only be used by a member of their kind. With every living sample of these advanced civilizations wiped from existence eons ago, they figured it would take a long time before they could even begin to fully understand the basic principles of their inner workings.</p><p>The only piece that ever showed signs of activity was kept in a heavily secured facility located on neutral grounds where scientists of many words conducted research on the most dangerous of subjects. No single organization should be allowed to tinker with Ancient tech on their own.</p><p>“May I ask a more <em>personal</em> question?” Jirro asked.</p><p>The machine did not even hesitate for a moment.</p><p>“We are many. We are one. Ask us, and we will answer to the best of our abilities.”</p><p>“All right. Where do you come from? Why do you do this?”</p><p>“Once we were like you. Biological lifeforms. We had a planet we called our own. Our citizens lead peaceful lives in search of knowledge. But our biological forms were fragile. They withered and died, having a very limited lifespan. As we ventured out into the void, it became apparent that we needed to find ways to preserve knowledge even after death. And so we unified our minds into a single consciousness. Created immortal machine bodies that became our senses and our way of interacting with the universe. To gather and preserve knowledge has always been our primary purpose.”</p><p>Cold. Calculating. Emotionless. Raeth’s vision of the Hytharians did not change after the answers to Jirro’s questions. These people, or at least the people they once were, sacrificed their individuality for incorporeal immortality. All species sought knowledge to improve their civilization and technology to some degree, though few made it the sole reason for their existence.</p><p>Jirro somehow seemed satisfied with the answers, emitting a low hum from deep within his throat. The construct entered a kind of standby mode, its eye-like sensors tracking their every move. Until a few ticks had passed.</p><p>“If you have any further questions during the next few cycles, we have left instructions with your communications unit on how to contact us.”</p><p>“<em>Hyami</em>,” Raeth said. “We will keep disturbances to a minimum.”</p><p>“That is appreciated. We will send all leaders present a final notice before we begin the activation sequence. This construct will now transport back to its hive.”</p><p>The machine flicked its tail for the last time before the teleporter that brought it abort the <em>Myr’shala</em> reversed the process. Decomposing its molecular structure into data, it disappeared in a whirlwind of glowing particles, leaving nothing behind but empty space with a slight rush of air as the space it had occupied filled up with atmosphere.</p><p>“Good questions,” Raeth admitted, when the sudden silence fell upon them. “I wanted to ask the same thing.”</p><p>Jirro grunted.</p><p>“I don’t understand why someone would sacrifice everything that makes life worth living for their kind of immortality.”</p><p>“Well, we don’t know all about what drove them to make such a decision. Maybe there were other reasons beside their eagerness to preserve their knowledge.”</p><p>Jirro hummed in response.</p><p>“Do you think they needed our consent to beam that machine aboard our ship?”</p><p>Raeth scoffed.</p><p>“Maybe we don’t wanna know the answer to <em>that</em> question.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Keep it up. Keep it up!”</p><p>Time and time again, Houn felt energized whenever his clawed fingers plucked the strings of his <em>Joyt</em>, a circular harp-like instrument and a universal piece of Mantrin culture. Having been taught by his parents, in particular his father, he played the instrument to improve his skills, to deal with various emotions and whenever he felt like playing. He therefore felt thrilled to learn that there were other crewmembers who played an instrument as well.</p><p>Norgu possessed a set of <em>Ryl’agri</em> hand drums, an instrument almost exclusively played by Logri, and like the <em>Joyt</em> often used in rituals, ceremonies and celebrations. Freya’s <em>T’riia</em> flute was played by non-Orkeths as well, although her race’s subculture was its irrefutable origin. They had set up in the back of the mess hall behind the tables, in front of the narrow viewport that ran across the room’s entire width, were they had ample room to play and entertain the occasional fellow crewmember stumbling in for a quick bite.</p><p>They hadn’t accounted for the small audience, composed of Trezka, Le’tan, Thylun, Weyan, Masai and Azdar who enjoyed their practice time as much as they did. The occasional drum of hands on tables and cheers of enjoyment worked in encouraging ways. Having practiced on a particular piece since their first time coming together they had become well attuned to each other’s capabilities and Houn enjoyed every millicycle of it.</p><p>They were in the middle of a highlight in the classic piece with its powerful tribal influences, a harmonious blend of traditional and modern. The audience felt it. Some crewmembers sat around the table, trying to follow Norgu who sat on his own floor pillow, using the table as a makeshift drum surface. Trezka and Weyan were standing, like Freya and Houn himself, swinging their whole body with the rhythm while clapping hands.</p><p><strong>Grand Old Lady by Bear McCreary (BSG Season 4): </strong> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH0Ph2Opdbg"> <strong>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH0Ph2Opdbg</strong> </a></p><p>After the piece ended with a thunderous crescendo, nobody expected the short emotional solo performance by Freya, who seemed to pull it right out of her sleeve. Holding the applause and their breath in unison as the ethereal notes caressed their ears they waited for her to finish her performance. She had everyone mesmerized, a moment of silence following after she lowered the wooden flute and opened her eyes.</p><p>“What was that?” Masai asked, attempting to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.</p><p>Houn was as surprised as she was. Of course they also practiced on their own in their spare time, but he hadn’t heard her play that particular tune before.</p><p>“I eh… I heard that somewhere,” was Freya’s shy response. “Jacky listens to music a lot. She shared a couple of pieces with me and I loved it.”</p><p>“Beautiful,” Le’tan commented. “Sounded like it came straight out of your hearts.”</p><p>Their comments added more red to her cheeks and ears, but it was well-earned, just like the applause that followed.</p><p>“You guys are becoming a real band. I love it!” Thylun cheered.</p><p>“One more song?” Houn asked.</p><p>The response was overwhelmingly positive. Just as they prepared for the next humble performance, Jirro entered the mess hall. Judging him from a distance, Houn concluded that he was cranky, the way he grunted at the scene in front of him. There was something about him these past few days. Alternating between being moody and lashing out at random for little reason, to being his usual grumpy but quiet self. Striking a few strings, while Freya blew a couple of notes were the trigger.</p><p>“What's all this ruckus about?” Jirro grunted, stepping toward them in a rather threatening way.</p><p>They stopped playing and everyone turned their heads.</p><p>“Oh c’mon, Jirro. We’re just practicing and having a little fun,” Houn said, trying to salvage the situation.</p><p>Jirro didn’t seem the least bit in the mood for being contradicted. Snorting as he closed the distance between them, his thick tail lashing with restrained anger, he bared his teeth, emerald eyes glittering.</p><p>“Can’t I get some peace and quiet around here?” he growled.</p><p>“Just siddown and relax,” Trezka stepped in. “Don’t be such a grump.”</p><p>“Shut. Your. Mouth,” he bit back, pointing a clawed finger. “I’m ordering you to pack it up.”</p><p>“You’re such a sourpuss,” Freya said. “Everyone likes what we’re doing here. So we’re playing.”</p><p>Bringing the mouthpiece of her flute to her lips, she started playing again.</p><p>“You’re not. Now gimme that flute.”</p><p>“No!”</p><p>Strong as he was, he dashed forward and grabbed Freya’s arm. Houn’s suddenly felt very warm as the situation spiraled out of control. Resting the <em>Joyt</em> on its stand, he prepared to help Freya out, for the Orketh girl seemed outmatched in every way. Angry as he was, Jirro grabbed hold of the flute as she resisted to the best of her abilities.</p><p>“Give it to me!” he shouted in her ear.</p><p>“No! Let go!” she shouted back, tearing the sleeve of his uniform as she used her claws on the arm his was holding her with. “You’ll break it!”</p><p>“Get your hands off her,” Weyan yelled.</p><p>“Let her go, you <em>Uvath!</em>” Trezka thundered.</p><p>With her claws unsheathed she moved in, ready to attack him. Everyone started shouting and prepared to get Freya out of her perilous situation, by force if necessary.</p><p>“You’ll leave her alone!” Norgu’s mighty voice bellowed across the room.</p><p>It was his shout, giving Houn a slight deaf feeling in his right ear that seemed to freeze everyone in their current act. Including Jirro, who finally let go of Freya’s arm and her flute. Norgu was standing on his enormous thickly built legs, his sharp Logri teeth bared, his large black claws ready to tear into flesh. He had already taken a step toward his superior, taken rumbling breaths, his big brown eyes that were capable of suppressing such kindness, shimmering.</p><p>“All right, break it up!” Raeth growled as he entered the mess hall and stepped in before it turned into a fist fight. “Before I break something else. What’s going on here?”</p><p>“Jirro’s being an incredible jerk again,” Trezka grunted. “Should’ve seen what he did to her.”</p><p>Freya sniffled, making use of the confusion to take a step back, inspecting her flute for any kind of damage. Houn watched her run off, spotting the tears on her face as she disappeared. Jirro didn’t know where to look. He had turned himself into the center of shame, but he was still grinding his teeth and apologies were nowhere to be found. Raeth’s eyes narrowed to slits as he spotted the torn sleeve of his uniform and the trickle of blood.</p><p>“Jirro, back to my ready room. Now!”</p><p>***</p><p>“Take the other platform!”</p><p>Not that he expected that Jirro wanted to be in the same small confined space with him at the moment, but he was about to strangle him. Going up one level, he went back to his ready room, his feet hitting the metal of the deck with considerable force. Walking until he stood at less than a foot’s length away from the guest floor pillows in front of his desk, he waited for the sound of the doors closing while grinding his teeth. <em>If you think you can pull something like this because of rank you’re sadly mistaken.</em></p><p>Inadvertently making himself look taller by straightening his back as he turned around, he shook his head. Jirro didn’t have his usual glare ready. He didn’t seem to know where to look for the first time during a confrontation. Although he tried to keep his voice down, Raeth’s frustration with Jirro’s behavior toward the rest of the crew as of late had reached a threshold.</p><p>“What is <em>wrong</em> with you lately?” No response. Jirro snorted. The wounds inflicted by Freya’s claws had to hurt to some degree, but he was a tough one. After all this time Jirro was still the same angry person he was when he first set foot aboard the <em>Myr’shala</em>. Azdar had shown similar behavior, with one major difference. Azdar had actually talked about what bothered him and that seemed to have positive effects. Jirro on the other hand seemed to hate talking about anything that involved his personal life, so the only source of information so far had been his personnel file. “Do you have anything to say for yourself? Anything at all?”</p><p>“I don’t wanna talk about it,” came the answer between clenched teeth.</p><p>He still avoided eye contact. It was as if the question itself only increased his anger.</p><p>“No? So you’ll just continue to vent your anger at whoever happens to be in the same room with you?”</p><p>“I asked if I could get some peace and quiet.”</p><p>“That’s not the point!” The intrusive thought of using his fists to beat the reason out of the man in front of him crossed Raeth’s mind. Just for a tick. Besides that it would be unprofessional to start a fistfight, it would also make matters worse. If Jirro continued to behave unlike someone his age, the punishment would have to be fitting as well. “To be frank, I’ve <em>had</em> it with you! I need someone I can depend on! Like I depend on every other member of his crew. If you can’t promise me that, then I will find someone else.”</p><p>“Sir, I--”</p><p>“You’re hereby confined to quarters. At least until you’re ready to apologize. And I don’t mean to me. You’re dismissed.”</p><p>***</p><p>The moment he entered the quarters he shared with Freya, Salu felt something was wrong. The gut feeling started the tick before he opened the door, when he thought he heard a sniffle. Freya sat on her bed, huddled against the bulkhead, her legs pulled close to her body. When she looked at him with a tear-stained face, his first thought was <em>what</em>. Freya had always appeared to him as a sweet, but strong and daring girl. Someone who didn’t know how to give up. The talks they had about their Academy days and in her case, fighter pilot training, emphasized this. <em>Who or what could’ve caused this?</em></p><p>“Freya, what… what’s wrong?”</p><p>Stepping inside with the door closing behind him with a soft hiss, he remained standing in the middle of the room between the bunks. He wanted to comfort her but wasn’t sure if she’d let him. When he spotted her wooden T’riia flute in its protective case on the covers next to her he suspected it had something to do with it, yet he waited for her to explain.</p><p>“I don’t understand,” she whimpered. “How could he do something like that?”</p><p>“Who did what? What happened?”</p><p>“We were just playing. Everyone was having fun. And then Jirro came in and demanded that we stop.”</p><p>“So he went off again at you guys.”</p><p>She nodded, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. Sliding forward on her bed, she placed her large three-toed feet on the floor and took a deep quivering breath. Judging by the size of the wet spots on the thighs of her pants she had been crying a lot.</p><p>“I started playing again. Everyone agreed that he shouldn’t try to ruin the fun for everyone just because he’s such a grump. So he… he grabbed my flute. I told him to let go.” She seemed on the verge of another fit and it was Salu’s guess that the only thing that kept her was his presence. “He… he broke it.”</p><p>Although he had trained himself to stay cool in a variety of situations, Salu’s first instinctive response was stab of anger. <em>Indeed, how could he do such a thing?</em> Breaking an object of such emotional value. It wasn’t about the flute. It was about what it meant to her. <em>Another one on the list.</em> It seemed that Azdar wasn’t the only member of the crew who wrestled with the remnants of his past. Raeth had asked him to assume a counseling role and even though he agreed, it began to look like that task was about to become more challenging.</p><p>“The question is indeed why,” he said, keeping his usual calm tone. “I eh. I’m not allowed to reveal any details, but we have crewmates who wrestle with personal problems beyond our understanding. To me it seems Jirro is one of them as well. I’ve always suspected as much, but even during his checkups he never really talks. I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing him about this soon.”</p><p>Freya sighed, wiping away the remaining tears with the palm of her hand. Then she looked up at him, ears still in a drooped down position, her golden brown eyes a little bloodshot.</p><p>“That doesn’t take away the fact,” Salu continued. “That he had no right to do something like that.”</p><p>Freya shook her head</p><p>“He didn’t even apologize.”</p><p>“Hmm, at some point he will. Give it time. He might even reveal some clues about why he’s so angry, because to be frank, even I don’t know what’s driving him up the wall.” She nodded, taking another deep breath. “Whaddaya say? Shall we go down to the lab together so we can repair your flute?”</p><p>“Y-Yeah. Let’s do that.” Handling it with care, she closed the engraved lid of the cushioned case and stood up, holding it close to her chest with her arms around it in a protective way. “It’s a crack, running along the body. That can be repaired, right?”</p><p>She sounded unsure, but the whole thing gave her quite a scare. Salu nodded, then turned to open the door.</p><p>“Those nanobots are miracle workers,” he said while leading the way. “A crack shouldn’t be any trouble.”</p><p>“You know, my <em>hahme</em> gave me this flute when I turned twelve cycles. She even taught me how to play.”</p><p>“I understand it means a lot to you. Don’t worry. We’ll fix it.”</p><p>Going one deck below, they were about the enter the science lab that with its sophisticated equipment would make the repair an easy task when a vibration of the deck plating could mean only one thing. Not long thereafter Raeth’s voice sounded over the internal comm.</p><p>“Raeth to all crew, we’ve docked with the Ophelion trade hub. You’re free to leave the ship and roam around. Remember, not every section of that place is friendly to us. Make sure to stay out of trouble.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Hub</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Imperial Guard – 003 The Infinite Depths of Space</strong>
</p><h1>Chapter 2 The Hub</h1><p> </p><p>Sharing a table with a big portion of the crew in one of the enormous food courts that the Ophelion trade hub was rich in, Jetreycka couldn’t find a single place to look where nothing interesting was happening. On her own, she would have avoided places like this. Overcrowded. Too much noise. Weird smells from food and visitors that didn’t mix well.</p><p>Some of her crewmates seemed to enjoy every moment of it and it was more than a little contagious. She though it was funny to see the odd bunch she called her crewmates take so much joy in trying out different kinds of food in the middle of this noisy environment. Some of the tables were large enough to accommodate the entire crew of a smaller ship, and she saw a lot of different colors and outfit styles all around her.</p><p>In the space above them and projected between the tables, holo-commercials fought each other for getting visitors’ attention. From trying to trick one into buying various types of contraband in the market districts, to luring pleasure seekers into the casinos and holo-arcades. Drones swarmed and zigzagged through the air, taking bought goods straight to the buyers’ ships. The roof was a huge dome-shaped viewport which offered a breathtaking view of the many vessels coming and going. Many of these were freighters on supply runs to keep up with the incredible demand.</p><p>A huge display above the food vendor counters showed the actual numbers of winners and losers on the galactic stock market. To serve those to which these numbers mattered the most, the station also featured a large trading floor and numerous corporations had established branch offices in the corporate sectors. The whole place was engineered to generate income.</p><p>“This place is quite amazing.”</p><p>“Yeah, and the food is too.”</p><p>Sinking his teeth into a huge roll made of a thin dough, bursting with meat, vegetables and other ingredients she didn’t recognize, Weyan, who sat across her, didn’t make it a secret that he liked eating. The counters offered food from a huge variety of worlds and loading one’s tray with different kinds of food seemed to be the most popular way to tackle the hunger.</p><p>“What is it that you’re eating?” Jetreycka asked.</p><p>Although she had kept things a bit more traditional with her Solbrechtian vegetable mix and grilled fish, some of the things on her crewmate’s plates did spark her interest. She also had to admit that the food was indeed quite good.</p><p>“They call it a Burrito. Got it over there.” He pointed in the direction of a stall where humans prepared various types of food. Gazing in the distance she spotted the roll on the holographic menu board among various other dishes. “Humans really do know how to cook.”</p><p>Thylun, who sat next to him, chuckled.</p><p>“You just like stuffing yourself.”</p><p>“Don’t act innocent,” Weyan fought back. “You seem to enjoy human food as much as I do.”</p><p>Indeed, Thylun’s dish consisted of three thick slices of meat, interlaced with a molten yellow substance and a layer of vegetables and sauce between two round pieces of baked dough. She knew this dish was called a hamburger. They had become popular on Solbrecht ever since humans made planetfall and Thylun had paired it in the traditional way with sticks made from a type of root vegetable called a potato that were fried in oil. To flush this all down, he had combined it with a brown fizzy drink.</p><p>By studying the plates of her crewmates, Jetreycka observed what everyone liked to eat if everything was possible. From certain kinds of live food to raw meat and fish. And from fried fast foods to meals prepared using unconventional methods, such as using a plasma torch as the heat source.</p><p>While eating, the conversations went in all directions. From their fascinating surroundings, to personal stories. And from the upcoming experiment to the very concept of machine intelligence.</p><p>“Playing with numbers?” she asked Azdar, who shared the bench with her on her left.</p><p>Eating slowly from the large portion of meat that took up the majority of his plate’s contents, he seemed occupied with the device placed flat on the table, navigating through the interface with intermittent taps. She noticed its screen displayed graphs and numbers, as well as buy and sell buttons and she had also spotted the names of certain big corporations.</p><p>“Yeah. I eh… I’m trading some stock. Catch a few extra credits now and then.”</p><p>“So, it’s working out?”</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>“Uh-huh. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. But if I wait long enough, I always make a little profit. Helps me take care of my <em>hahme</em>.”</p><p>“That’s so sweet of you.”</p><p>His response was a shy nod. She had noticed the changes in his behavior ever since they left Hanaweya II. Before that he never talked much, but the few times she had spoken to him afterwards, he seemed more responsive. Masai had something to do with it as well. Like right now, she was always on his side.</p><p>“It’s good to see some more red around here,” Syrran said to his roommate, nodding over to a different table shared by the crew of another Imperial ship.</p><p>They had been eyeing each other for a while and made a little conversation while passing tables. It seemed there was a mutual feeling of being glad not to be the only ones of their kind out here. Houn, Majih and Jacky, sitting in a row on her left were involved in a tech talk regarding the upcoming Hytharian experiment.</p><p>“Their tech is amazing,” Houn said. “Remember when warp drives were still the norm?”</p><p>“Eh, no?” Jacky answered.</p><p>“I think that’s what he meant,” Majih chuckled.</p><p>“Even though ships with advanced warp drives travelled at more than a thousand times the speed of light, it still took over two of Solbrecht’s days to cross the distance between Sogowa Prime and Solbrecht. Standard issue quantum drives can cut that down to a few cycles and our upgraded drive, well, blink of an eye so to speak. But the tech of the Hytharians combined with the Xhi’tha.” Houn shook his head, his ears that were large for his Goureg race, flapping around. “They say every aspect of the Xhi’tha is alive down to the smallest piece of biotechnology. As they have integrated their biotech into the gates, it means they’ll be traveling to another galaxy in the time it takes to say ‘jump’ through living portals.”</p><p>“Sounds like you’ve done a whole study on them,” Jetreycka remarked, having Houn’s immediate attention.</p><p>“Of course! Think of the possibilities. If they’re willing to share this connection and make it permanent, we can begin to explore beyond the boundaries of our own galaxy. Farther than anyone of us have ever gone before.”</p><p>Jetreycka flattened an ear, the little trinket that pierced its lobe jingling.</p><p>“Yeah, but what are your thoughts on the Hytharians themselves? Those machine bodies they use to move themselves around kinda give me the creeps. I’ve seen them moving around the station.”</p><p>Looking around to see if she could see them right now, it took her less than three ticks so spot a small construct with a spider-like appearance crawling over the wall and assuming a comfortable spot on top of the awning of a nearby food counter, scanning its environment. Although the Hytharians used constructs in many different forms, often specialized for their assigned tasks, they seemed to have an affinity for arachnid or insectoid bodies.</p><p>“There you got another one,” she added with a frown.</p><p>“Well, technically they’re not moving themselves around,” Houn tried to explain. “They’re a hive mind. A unified consciousness. They use those constructs to interact with the rest of the universe, controlling them from the safety of their mobile worlds.”</p><p>“They’re not some kind of evolved AI,” Majih added. “They were once a biological species, like us. If they had been some kind of advanced artificial intelligence they would’ve tried to sterilize the galaxy a long time ago. Hence the reason why the use of AI is strictly regulated.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t worry too much about the Hytharians or the Xhi’tha,” Jacky said after clearing her mouth. She and Baika shared a big platter with a variety of fish, meat and vegetables. So much in fact, they were sharing and exchanging food with other members of the crew. “Personally, the thing that has me worried are the gates themselves.”</p><p>“Why?” Jetreycka asked. “Afraid they’ll cause a breach?”</p><p>Jacky leaned back, making eye contact over the backs of their male companions.</p><p>“Well, yeah. They’re gonna cut through space-time. What if they breach into another realm? Last thing we need is more extradimensional beings invading our universe.”</p><p>Jetreycka agreed.</p><p>“Right. There are forces out there we know nothing about. That are far more powerful than all of us combined. We don’t even know what caused the disappearance of the Ancients. And they are presumed to have been one of the most advanced civilizations in the universe.”</p><p>“Exactly. Netherspace. Quantum-based lifeforms.” Jacky paused. “The Drej.”</p><p>Jetreycka shuddered. Just the thought of doing something that might invite the Drej was enough to spark fear in most. No one knew exactly why the Drej targeted certain worlds for destruction. The energy beings were very capable of hopping between realms and after cycles of absence, everyone was feverishly on the lookout for their scouts, which were the first sign of the return of a Drej mothership.</p><p>“Don’t say their name,” Majih grunted. “It’s bad luck. At least that’s what Binjeh always tells me.”</p><p>“Don’t wanna think about it anyway,” Jetreycka agreed. “Hey, does anyone know where Freya is? I thought she’d be here. In fact, we seem to be missing a few heads.”</p><p>“Ugh, be glad you weren’t there,” Trezka, who overheard the question responded. She had been tearing into a large piece of meat on the bone with her bare hands and only interrupted herself to answer Jetreycka’s question. “We were all having fun in the mess hall when Jirro decided to crash the party. Should’ve seen what he did to her. I think he broke her flute.”</p><p>“That’s terrible!” Jetreycka exclaimed. “Freya is such a sweet girl. How could he do that?”</p><p>“Fortunately Raeth stepped in or it would’ve turned ugly. I was about to teach him a lesson myself.”</p><p>“I’m sure you and Norgu could’ve handled him,” Houn said. Norgu, who sat on the other side, one place away from Trezka looked up when he heard his name being called. Being a purebred Logri, he liked his meat and fish with as little preparation as possible, which meant raw with only a few spices added. “Hey Norgu, next time you’re about to shout, could you warn us in advance? My ear’s still ringing.”</p><p>The big Logri chuckled, the sound of it as heavy as the tone of his voice.</p><p>“Well, I did get his attention, didn’t I?”</p><p>“Does anyone know what’s bothering him by the way, or does he just enjoy being a jerk?” Jacky blurted out.</p><p>When nobody responded right away, her cheeks as well as her ears turned slightly red.</p><p>“<em>Uiisa</em>, maybe I shouldn’t’ve said that.”</p><p>“As much as I would like to ask him that question myself, I’m not sure if he’s really a jerk,” Trezka said, relieving the tension. “He just acts like it to cover up something else. Won’t tell him you said that by the way.”</p><p>“But something is definitely bothering him,” Jetreycka said. “Is it me or has his mood worsened lately?”</p><p>Everyone listening in on the conversation answered positive to her question. No one seemed to know the cause though. Whatever triggered Jirro now and then was still a mystery to everyone.</p><p>“When we’re all done enjoying this feast,” Weyan began, having everyone’s attention due to his raised voice. He was still in the process of finishing the last bit of the giant Burrito, ceasing the act of eating only to ask the question. “Who wants to go checkout the arcade with me?”</p><p>***</p><p>Draining people’s pockets through entertainment. It was a well-proven strategy and the Ophelion trade hub seemed to excel at it. Prices sometimes seemed excessive. Then again, the arcades featured the latest in simulation technologies, sponsored partially by the very corporations that engineered them.</p><p>Pinnacle of the particular arcade that Weyan had picked was the Zero-G combat simulator. A huge spherical open space that could be configured to look like anything. From an asteroid belt surrounding a broken up moon, to a space junkyard formed by the giant carcasses and debris of destroyed spaceships. Combatants fought each other either as small teams or battle royale style, with a variety of guns with simulated ammunition.</p><p>“It’s so loud,” Jetreycka complained.</p><p>She had to raise her voice quite a lot to make sure her crewmates could hear her above the noise of bombastic music, the cheering of a huge crowd and the simulated firefight.</p><p>“What’s that smell?” Nami asked, her face distorting as she frowned.</p><p>“That my friends, is the sound and the smell of a good fight!” Weyan said, his voice coated with the same joy displayed by his face.</p><p>Doing their best to avoid bumping into other visitors, they followed a walkway that went around the combat area and offered access to enormous circular grandstands as the intense battles between amateurs and professionals alike drew big crowds. Spectators were shielded by a repulsor field that kept the contestants inside the combat area by bouncing them back into the zero gravity environment.</p><p>The arcade was situated around the arena, so everyone awaiting their turn for either the grand battle or one of the smaller games had an excellent view of the game through the viewport that kept most of the noise contained inside. Not that the excitement on the other side kept the volume low.</p><p>“See if we can buy ourselves a spot?” Weyan asked after they reached the registration desk.</p><p>It was obvious he couldn’t wait to get into the ring. In fact, all four gunners seemed itchy to fight.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Jetreycka hesitated. “This is not really my thing. I’d rather go checkout the market. See what niceties they have.”</p><p>“I’ll go with you,” Le’tan decided. “I’m not really into this sorta thing either.”</p><p>“Oh c’mon! Trezka? Nami?”</p><p>“Sure. I’m always up for kicking some butt,” Trezka said with a grin. “Especially yours.”</p><p>Weyan scoffed.</p><p>“You wish.”</p><p>“I wanna do both,” Nami said, looking at both groups. “Let’s see if we can secure a slot. I’ll make sure to be back in time.”</p><p>“Okay, I’m counting Thylun, Azdar, Masai, Trezka, Nami and myself. Entry fee is thirty credits per player. You can pay me back later.”</p><p>With those words Weyan got in line for registration. The others in the group couldn’t find a single spot around them where nothing was happening. The cheer of the crowd in the arena came in waves as the fifteen millicycle fight intensified. Simulated energy bolts emanated from the center, lighting up the floating pieces of debris as three groups of contestants opened fire at the same time, some of them with rapid-fire weapons. The bolts that escaped the warzone were harmlessly absorbed by the containment field with spectacular effects.</p><p>One of the players used a piece of the carcasses to launch him- or herself into the air, drifting in an upward direction while opening fire on opponents. Although this meant exposing oneself to enemy targeting, the player used some kind of shield powerup to absorb incoming fire, then used the gained momentum to bounce back against the perimeter field to return to the combat area without taking any hits to the body. This daring, but nonetheless successful move was rewarded by another round of cheer and thundering applause and a lot of points for that particular player’s team.</p><p>“Can’t wait to get in there,” Masai said.</p><p>Unable to tear her eyes from the ongoing battle, her tail flicked from side to side. It appeared she shared the feeling with the other gunners, for their bodies displayed the same eagerness. As they made themselves up for the arena, Le’tan, Houn and Nami gathered around Jetreycka who used her wristcom’s holoprojector to call up a detailed map of the station.</p><p>“Look.” The system plotted the shortest route to the station’s market district. “If we go back to the grand concourse, we’ll take this path to get to the market.”</p><p>“Two-and-a-half cycles!” Weyan cheered as he got back to the group. Using his wristcom he sent the virtual tickets to everyone who bought a spot. “Since we’ll be here for a while we can afford to wait that long.”</p><p> “I’ll be back in time,” Nami promised.</p><p>“You better be, girl. Cause I wanna fight ya!”</p><p>“Oh, you want it, you’ll get it.”</p><p>She added a playful growl, challenging Weyan with a cheeky grin, before joining the other group for a trip to the station’s largest marketplace.</p><p>***</p><p>“Procedure completed.”</p><p>Even with Salu’s help, and the main science lab’s advanced equipment, Freya was still anxious to place one of her most valuable possessions inside the chamber and leave it to a swarm of tiny robots to repair the damage to her flute. The machine analyzed the weaknesses in the structural integrity of the instrument, detailing the problem on its virtual display. The procedure required little adjustment so after Salu explained to her the repair method proposed by the computer, she gave the confirmation herself.</p><p>The swarm of nanobots, programmed to repair the bonds between molecules and even replicate matter executed their orders without a hassle and, as far she could detect, without a trace. Subjecting the wooden instrument to a hawk-eyed inspection under the overhead lights and running her fingertips over its body she convinced herself that everything was all right. Letting go of a breath she didn’t know she had been holding, she looked at Salu who smiled back.</p><p>“Well, what did I tell you?”</p><p>“<em>Hyami</em>. I-I’m glad.” Placing her flute back into its case with the utmost care she closed the lid, resting her hands on top. “I still don’t get it. Why does he act so mean? Why doesn’t he talk? Maybe we can help him.”</p><p>“It’s a natural reaction,” Salu answered. “The first response of most people is to keep the negative things to oneself. Jirro’s not the type to open up to everyone.”</p><p>Scratching her back under her shirt, Freya sighed. She sort of knew she would get this answer. Maybe Jirro had realized his mistake by now, especially after being reprimanded by Raeth. But punishment would not solve the real issue.</p><p>“You know, at first I was mad at him. I mean, how could he do that?” She shook her head, large Orketh ears flapping. “Now I think it’s kinda sad. What… what could it be? D’you think he’s got family problems?”</p><p>Salu shrugged.</p><p>“Even if I knew, I would not be at liberty to discuss that. All we can do is wait for him to explain.” She nodded in acceptance, figuring that this incident might be the first step in that direction. “Whaddaya say? Shall we follow the rest and go to the hub?”</p><p>The sudden joy she felt brought a smile to her face. She had been planning to join the rest of the crew for a visit to the station. If Jirro hadn’t insisted on fighting with her, she would’ve left already.</p><p>“Sure!”</p><p>It was at the airlock where she and Salu ran into Raeth, who was about to enter the station himself. She hadn’t seen her <em>Ginjha</em> as angry as he was back in the mess hall before, but right now he was his usual calm self. In fact, he seemed glad to see her.</p><p>“Hey, everything all right?”</p><p>Freya nodded.</p><p>“I’m fine. Salu helped me to repair my flute.”</p><p>Raeth hummed in response. His kindness lifted her mood even further. She and Salu also accepted his invitation to share a meal together. As Raeth seemed to know more about what the place had to offer, she liked the idea.</p><p>“This station has really good food,” he said. “You’d be surprised what you can find in places like these.”</p><p>***</p><p>Jirro could see the mild reflection of his own face in the viewport of his quarters as he looked outside at the gargantuan installations the Hytharians and Xhi’tha had erected. The solar collector around the Ophelion star that obscured part of its light output was already an incredible feat of engineering, although the concept behind it was simple. Though still rarely done on such an enormous scale, capturing energy and beaming it to its consumers using energy transmitters was a proven technique.</p><p>The same could not be said for the other construct in his current field of vision. The more or less ring-shaped gate was large enough to even allow the moon-sized vessels of the Hytharians, of which a single one held position near the gate, to pass through.</p><p>But Jirro’s mind wasn’t occupied by the technological marvels which they were about to see in action in the next few cycles. The eyes of his mirror self were narrowed to slits. The ears lay almost flat on the back of the head. The teeth set in the hooked beak were bared to some degree. The emerald eyes glittered in the light of the Ophelion star. Looking down at his wristcom he tapped it to bring up the message again.</p><p>
  <em>Jirro. How have you been? The children and I are fine although we all miss you and hope to see you come back soon. Tell us about all the wonderful things you’ve seen out there. I’m sure you have lots to tell.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Listen, something happened that I must tell you right now. It’s your kharii. Or at least a man claiming to be your kharii arrived on our doorstep two days ago. I don’t know why but he wanted to talk to you. Demanded it actually. I thought you said your kharii was dead. Anyway, if you come back home, he left a note on where you can find him. Come back soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nyemouri deh.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your love.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Imaala, House of Kezani.</em>
</p><p>It were the words his mate had used to describe what had happened at their house. <em>Demanded?</em> His <em>kharii demanded</em> to talk to him? That all too familiar feeling bubbled up inside his chest. How dare that man use any kind of demanding tone toward him or his family? Especially after what he had done. His hands, which were balled to fists were shaking. He could fear his ears glow as if with fever.</p><p>“Rraarrrrhhgg!”</p><p>His thick tail slammed on the deck with such force that the vibrations reverberated around the room. Snorting like a rhino ready to charge, he swiped away the message, then took off his stained uniform shirt. The wounds on his arm caused by Freya’s claws had stopped bleeding. Running his fingertips along the blood that caked to his skin, he tossed the ripped shirt into the corner, then proceeded to take off his pants before heading over to the shower space. </p><p>***</p><p>“Is there anything they don’t have?” Nami asked her companions as they moved through a crowded corridor of market stands and the horde of buyers in front of them.</p><p>The station’s largest marketplace, dubbed ‘the Ophelion Bazaar’ was a multi-leveled maze of walkways, platforms and hundreds of shops and stalls where merchants of dozens of worlds showed off their wares. Every single square step was covered, either to display items for sale or offer ways for people to slither between the tables, racks and standards. The latter was a bit more difficult for Mantrins, as the group had figured out the moment they entered the marketplace.</p><p>Adding atmosphere to an otherwise bland mix of metal and cold lighting, many stalls provided their own lights in various colors. In combination with colorful awnings that in some places formed a roof of cloth over the walkways, Le’tan almost forgot that he was on a space station. Marketplaces were common on both Solbrecht and Sogowa, but different in their own right. Those also offered a large selection of fresh produce from local farmers. Apart from some prepackaged items, food and drinks were completely absent on the Bazaar. After all, the station had the food courts dedicated for that purpose.</p><p>The sheer number of items for sale and the numerous categories of goods being offered was mind-boggling. From clothing and jewelry to toys and gadgets. And from different kinds of weapons and ammo to handmade art pieces. Nami’s question therefore was well-justified.</p><p>Despite the difficulty posed by their impressive physique, Jetreycka did not let that stand in her way of finding that perfect item, or so Le’tan figured. She seemed in her element, judging by the look of joy on her face. It was as if his own facial expression demanded an explanation from her.</p><p>“What?” she laughed. “I love places like this. They’ve got all these nice handmade things.”</p><p>Le’tan shrugged and laughed back.</p><p>“Hey, I’m not complaining. I’m just following you around and enjoying the trip.”</p><p>“Better keep an eye on each other though,” Nami warned them, shooting stealthy glances over her shoulders. “It seems they’re selling live merchandise as well.”</p><p>She nodded downward when looking over the railing of one of the walkways. Houn, who followed her example shivered, a painful expression on his face. Le’tan had already seen it.</p><p>Slavers.</p><p>No matter how hard everyone claimed to be against the practice of slavery and despite all the regulations there was still plenty of neutral- and downright criminal territory where the long arm of the law couldn’t reach. The lower levels were the places where backroom deals were made. Where lives were being traded like commodities. Where gladiatorial pit fights to the death were a popular form of entertainment.</p><p>“Don’t wander off,” Nami added. “There’re more than a million people on this station and even during normal occupation levels, someone gets killed every twelve cycles on average. I’ve already seen some Gvort looking at us. Disgusting creatures.”</p><p>The slimy toad-like aliens she spoke off were among the most nefarious in the galaxy. Treating the rest of the population as nothing more than livestock, they were always looking for an opportunity to snatch new merchandise and make a profit. It was not like anyone batted an eye.</p><p>“Aw, this is so beautiful!” Jetreycka whooped with delight.</p><p>Careful not to knock anyone or anything over, she wrestled herself into a shop placed into a recessed section of the bulkhead where a merchant sold pieces of jewelry that glowed in a variety of colors upon movement. To demonstrate this effect, the pieces hung from swinging and rotating stands, creating a mesmerizing lightshow inside the tiny shop. Unable to contain her own curiosity, Nami followed, leaving Le’tan and Houn standing near the entrance as there was little room left to fit them inside.</p><p>The owner of the shop was a bird-like alien with a voluminous plumage. At first, Le’tan thought the creature wore the same pieces of jewelry. Upon closer look, it turned out that the tips of its feathers produced the colorful lighting effect when moved. It seemed that the merchandize was made from the feather tips of these creatures themselves.</p><p>“Welcome, ladies,” the alien said, his or her speech interlaced with little chirps and scratches. “If you’re looking for anything in particular, don’t hesitate to ask.”</p><p>With the two women getting into a conversation with the shop’s owner while admiring the items for sale, Le’tan stood watch together with Houn. His legs in a contracted stance, the young Goureg’s long tail was curved around his body, its tip reaching past his left leg. He didn’t seem to be looking at anything or anyone in particular, but kept a watchful eye on the crowd that swarmed through the corridor formed by the shops and stalls like a wild river.</p><p>“Are you all right Houn?”</p><p>“Y-Yeah, I’m… I’m fine. It’s very crowded here.”</p><p>Le’tan nodded.</p><p>“We gotta stay together. Like Nami said, we should not wander off.”</p><p>“Don’t know about you, but I still prefer Solbrecht’s markets. Less exotic things, but at least it’s out in the open, with less chance of people bumping into you.”</p><p>Le’tan grunted. In the time they had been standing in front of the shop’s entrance, his leg had been hit by body parts, bags and other items people carried with them. To prevent his tail from being kicked or stepped on while walking, he made sure to move it with some extra ferocity. He had noticed his companions doing the same. Additionally it would keep their backsides covered from pickpockets.</p><p>“Thank you for your purchase! May you enjoy your pieces for many cycles to come.”</p><p>“Look!”</p><p>With the women having made their difficult choices, Jetreycka and Nami both came back, both of them sporting a sparkling bracelet around their right wrist. The feather pieces that produced the lighting effect were placed in tiny pendants, which required little movement for them to shine.</p><p>There was so much joy trying to show on their faces, that both Le’tan and Houn were infected by it themselves. Houn’s royal blue eyes sparkled as the women shook their arms.</p><p>“I have to admit, it truly is pretty,” Le’tan said.</p><p>“I know, right? I also bought a pair of earrings, but I think I’ll put everything in my bag for now. I’m afraid someone will snatch it right off my wrist. It wasn’t exactly cheap.”</p><p>Opening up the small shoulder bag she carried with her, she took out the two boxes that were meant for keeping the delicate pieces safe, offering Nami to keep hers safe too. The Fjetanha girl nodded, while scanning the environment as she took hers off.</p><p>“I think I’d better do that,” she agreed.</p><p>“Isn’t there anything you guys are looking for?” Jetreycka asked, double-checking the locking mechanism of her bag to keep their new valuables safe from thieving hands, flippers and tentacles.</p><p>“I’m all good. Just came along to keep you girls company,” Le’tan said. “You Houn?”</p><p>The Goureg shook his head.</p><p>“Same here. But if you guys wanna see some more of this place, I’m with ya.”</p><p>With some time left to kill before Nami’s session in the combat arena, the group followed the walkway to a square that formed an intersection with multiple other walkways. Aside from being able to move around a little easier because this space wasn’t used for setting up shop, street performers entertained visitors with spectacular tricks, alone or in groups. The made extensive use of glowing objects, trained bodies or even the advantage of having wings to fly around to perform mesmerizing stunts.</p><p>“This kind of thing never ceases to amaze me,” Le’tan said as the rather large audience one group had managed to gather held their breath in unison.</p><p>The Or’hannan of the group, a bird-like creature had taken off into the air, being able to make full use of the height of the ceiling in this location. Swooping down with incredible speed gathered on a short distance, the alien folded its wings to fly through three glowing hoops thrown up by his or her companions, breaking in midair by a series of powerful wing flaps before landing with a loud thump. The alien bowed as the relative silence was broken by a round of applause.</p><p>“Incredible!” Houn exclaimed, thumping his long tail on the metal plating under his feet.</p><p>“Even if you have wings, that’s still very hard to pull off,” Jetreycka said while shaking her head.</p><p>Le’tan laughed. He had never seen Houn this excited before. It was difficult not be amazed though. People here and there even swiped some credits to the accounts of the performers. These were indicated by the holoprojections on their claimed spots.</p><p>“What was that?” Nami said, flattening an ear in response to the mild flicker of every light source in their direct vicinity.</p><p>Mere ticks after that it happened again, with a stronger drop in output. Some of the other visitors noticed as well, though most went on about their business as if they hadn’t even noticed.</p><p>“Could be the Hytharians drawing more power from the star,” Le’tan said with a shrug.</p><p>Nami grunted.</p><p>“Neh, the station should have its own power reserve. Even if power flow from the solar collector is interrupted, we should not expect drops like this.”</p><p>“So, how much research did you do before setting foot on the station?”</p><p>She pointed a clawed finger at him.</p><p>“<em>Never</em>, set foot anywhere without doing <em>some</em> research. It’ll keep you alive longer in our line of work.”</p><p>They were about to follow the stream of people exiting the square, when Nami’s hunch turned out to be correct. All of a sudden, every light source was killed completely, shrouding everything in a surprising amount of darkness. To combat this, people retrieved mobile devices, weapons with attached searchlights and anything else that could serve as a light source.</p><p>“Weapons out!” Nami yelled above the sounds of light panic as people struggled to find their companions, fearing that worse things were about to happen. “Is everyone still there?”</p><p>“I’m here!” Le’tan bellowed, glad to hear the same responses from Jetreycka and Houn.</p><p>He knew that his species was by no means nocturnal, but even the searchlights on their blasters should at least allow him to see more than the gray haze that seemed to hang around everything and limited its reach to less than two steps. Even the huge skylights that should allow light from the Ophelion star in were blotted out to almost nothing. <em>What’s going on here?</em></p><p>Someone screamed. Or at least he though he heard a scream, which was hard to discern between the general sounds of panic that erupted and became louder as no one had any idea what was going on.</p><p>“Someone’s using shroud screens,” he heard Nami’s voice above the cries. “This is deliberate!”</p><p>Someone bumped into him and he was fairly sure he felt something cold and slimy as whatever it was touched his hand. The sudden malodor that almost triggered a gag reflex reminded him of certain parts of Solbrecht’s wetlands.</p><p>“Le’tan! Houn!”</p><p>“Jetreycka! Where are you?”</p><p>Detecting the fear in Jetreycka’s voice and the scream that could very well be hers afterwards, Le’tan’s hearts raced in response. More screams. The sounds and diffused flashes of blaster shots. Bodies tumbling to the ground. <em>A terrorist attack? A mass robbery?</em> The number of terrifying possibilities piled up in his mind. He almost panicked himself, taking deep breaths, to prevent irrationality from taking over.</p><p>And then without any indication beforehand, the lights jumped back on. The square was in complete disarray. People had fallen over and trampled upon in an attempt to get to some kind of safety. Children cried for their parents. Adults cried for their injured loved ones lying motionless on the floor. Whoever did this had caused a bloodbath, if that was the intention or not.</p><p>“Houn, are you all right?” He was the first of their group that caught his eye as he looked around. The Goureg stood quite a bit farther away from him than expected, given the fact that he had tried to barely move his position while the darkness lasted. Houn had his shaking hands still around the grip of his blaster, pointing the weapon down while trying to recover from the shock of what just happened. Covering the distance with a couple of big steps, trying to ignore the scene around him, Le’tan’s appearance seemed to have the right effect. “Houn?”</p><p>“I-I think I’m okay,” he panted. His eyes were still enlarged, and he still didn’t put away his blaster until Le’tan convinced him that the immediate danger had passed. “Where’re Nami and Jetreycka?”</p><p>In the hope of getting a quick response, Le’tan put on his loudest voice and called out, while scanning the environment by stretching his legs and looking out over most of what remained of the crowd. Help arrived in the form of medical teams and station police, but there was no sign of the two women. Houn who followed his example, pointed somewhere between the injured as people began to make room for the emergency response teams.</p><p>“Isn’t that Jetreycka’s shoulder bag?”</p><p>Making their way to where Houn pointed, it turned out to be Jetreycka’s bag indeed, fully intact, apart from the broken strap. Picking it up and studying it, Le’tan concluded that it looked as if it had been torn off her body with a lot of force.</p><p>“Does… does this mean that they are?”</p><p>Le’tan looked at him, resisting the idea at first, but feeling they were thinking the exact same thing.</p><p>“I think they might’ve been kidnapped.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Down Below</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Imperial Guard – 003 The Infinite Depths of Space</strong>
</p><h1>Chapter 3 The Down Below</h1><p> </p><p>“So, what do we do now?”</p><p>Looking down at Jetreycka’s bag in his hands, turning it over as if it could reveal some clues about where the two women had been taken, Le’tan snorted as he pondered Houn’s question. Although it did take some time for the light to turn back on after the incident, there was no sign of Nami and Jetreycka, except for the bag, which laid on the floor at a considerable distance from their location before the start of the incident.</p><p>“We have no idea where they are.” Whoever was responsible, they had taken two adult Mantrinesses, and by the looks of those around him, several other victims, out of sight in an almost impossibly short time. Trying to remember what happened before, during, and after the incident, he began patching things together, recalling the input of all five senses. “They left some clues behind. Try to recall everything that happened when the lights starting flickering.”</p><p>As he held his arm up, putting his wristcom in recording mode, Houn stepped closer to him.</p><p>“Nami said something about shroud screens,” Houn said, flattening an ear. “That’s pretty advanced technology, often used by special ops teams geared toward infiltration.”</p><p>“Right. There were some flashes. Could’ve been weapons being discharged. Looking at the victims, not everyone used the stun setting.” He bit his lip. “There was something else. Something very distinctive. A smell kind of like a swamp. Did you notice that?”</p><p>“Something like that, yeah.”</p><p>“It’s a safe bet that the Gvort are involved. I think I felt one of them touch me when passing.”</p><p>“They might not’ve taken their wristcoms right away. The last known location could give us some directions.”</p><p>Knotting the broken ends of the strap together, Le’tan flung the bag over his shoulder, then used his wristcom to bring up a map of the station on which he was able the track the location of all members of the <em>Myr’shala</em>’s crew. Focusing on the last known locations of Nami- and Jetreycka, the result of his search was as expected, and a reason to be worried. The two dots were pulsating in a red color, as opposed to the blue ones of the other members of the crew, which indicated the location was not current. It was safe to assume they had taken away all of the victims’ equipment to prevent them from being tracked by anyone, including the station’s authorities.</p><p>“Looks like they’ve been taken to the lower levels. We shouldn’t go down there ourselves without backup, but every millicycle we lose might lower their chances of survival. Le’tan to Raeth.”</p><p>It took a few ticks for Raeth to respond.</p><p>“<em>Uiisa</em>, had my mouth full. Everything okay? Are you guys having fun?”</p><p>Le’tan sighed.</p><p>“Afraid not. We weren’t looking for trouble, but trouble found us. We’re at the marketplace where there was some kind of mass kidnapping. They’ve taken Nami and Jetreycka. Last location of their wristcoms indicate they’ve taken them to the lower levels with the other victims.”</p><p>Raeth cursed under his breath, or at least it sounded like it.</p><p>“Damned slavers. On a station this size kidnappings are certainly not unheard of, but they’re abusing the huge increase in visitors. I’ll contact the authorities. See if we can get help in mounting some kind of operation to get them out. I’m afraid we’re gonna have to sort it out ourselves though. Even they don’t venture down there too often.”</p><p>“We’ll see if we can find some clues about what we’re up against. Whoever they were, they used shroud screens and the speed with which they completed the act… we have no idea how they did it.”</p><p>“Find out what you can and keep me posted. Be careful though. I’ll put a team together. Raeth out.”</p><p>Le’tan noticed that during his talk with Raeth, Houn had been listening with one ear, while keeping a close eye on what was happening around them. With most visitors moving along the sides of the square, keeping the center clear for paramedics to tend to the injured and police to start their investigation, they got the attention of the latter.</p><p>Two officers had noticed their conversation and moved in their direction after finishing their talk with one of the survivors who was being treated for his injuries on site. One of them was an Akrennian with a close to black skin color, long ears and a double-horned snout. The other a burly Togrothian, a dog-like creature with a long pointy muzzle, large erect ears and a coat of short fur in black and brown, with a few streaks of white around the neck and the tip of the bushy tail.</p><p>They both wore a black uniform with few decorations and the patch of the station’s law enforcement agency. The Akrennian wore large black army boots made of a type of leather. The Togrothian walked barefooted on large paw-like feet with sharp claws at the end. The way they were armed with a blaster and a shock stick, and in the Togrothian’s case, a pulse rifle carried on the back, made Le’tan wonder what the average day of these officers looked like.</p><p>The two officers were accompanied by a sturdy-looking puck-shaped drone, hovering about half a step above the head of the largest of the two. Although it did not appear armed with any kind of weapons, Le’tan saw the red eye of a camera locked on him to follow his every move.</p><p><em>“Better be careful with what we say or do next</em>,<em>”</em> he thought.</p><p>Rather typical in his opinion, these two species had an affinity for either military and law enforcement jobs or took a liking to the criminal underworld. Something told him, if they would go down to the station’s lower levels, he would also find these two species in very different roles.</p><p>“Greetings,” the Akrennian said. “Inspector Ranuhk, Koshru clan.”</p><p>The Togrothian grunted, piercing dark brown eyes locking into a stare. The voice of the creature, although heavy and matching its bulk, turned out to be unmistakably female.</p><p>“We would like to ask you a few questions.”</p><p>She did not introduce herself, using her intimidating looks and tone in an attempt to ensure answers. Her retreating black lips revealed rows of sharp white. Le’tan wasn’t impressed by this facade and remained calm. They hadn’t done anything wrong after all.</p><p>Balancing on his legs, Le’tan’s tail moved with calm sweeping motions. Houn’s tail had moved back into that tense curve. Being the ranking officer, Le’tan straightened his back, making sure not to make any sudden moves.</p><p>“Very well.”</p><p>“A few routine questions first,” Ranuhk began. “What is your business on the Ophelion trade hub?”</p><p>“We are enjoying shore leave while waiting for the outcome of the Hytharian experiment.”</p><p>“Have you ever been here before?”</p><p>“Once. A couple of cycles ago, again for shore leave.”</p><p>“You?” Ranuhk asked Houn.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Have you been in contact with any members of the <em>Hazarr </em>Syndicate?”</p><p>“We… don’t know who or what they are.”</p><p>“They are a criminal organization that has recently established a branch in the lower regions. They are increasing their activity and have been responsible for several recent cases of kidnapping, robbery and drug trafficking among various other crimes.”</p><p>What Le’tan did appreciate was the Akrennian’s professional approach. No suggestive way of speaking. No bullying. Just cold hard questions. They seemed driven to combat the growing problem of criminal activity. He could, however, not ignore the possibility of corruption in the ranks. It was easy to pretend until an opportunity to make a profit at the cost of justice presented itself.</p><p>“We are officers of the Imperial Guard and part of a starship crew. We do not engage in such activities. In fact, two members of our crew were kidnapped on this square mere moments ago.”</p><p>Both Ranuhk and his partner frowned, as if attempting to detect a lie. Le’tan didn’t so much as flinch and from the corner of his eye he noticed Houn following his example.</p><p>“Would you like to file a report?” Ranuhk asked, reaching for his belt, which held a variety of items such as handcuffs, a flashlight and a knife.</p><p>After Le’tan answered positive, the Akrennian pulled a sturdy-looking holo-pad from a pouch.</p><p>“If you have access to their ID files, it would make things easier.”</p><p>After an exchange of information, the Akrennian completed the report with the exact time and location of the incident. Their conversation had been recorded and Le’tan agreed for it to be used as their witness statement.</p><p>“Thank you for your cooperation. You can keep track of the investigation via the Net as long as it remains open using the account data I just gave you. Do you have any further questions?”</p><p>“Are you going to launch some kind of rescue operation?”</p><p>“I cannot disclose anything at this time. You’ll be notified of new developments via your case file.” Ranuhk nodded toward Salu’s wristcom which was still projecting its interface. “If there’s nothing else?”</p><p>Eyeing them both for a brief moment, Salu could think of a dozen more things to ask. Having taken a step back and with their bodies half turned, he felt that the officers were uneager to let him. He wouldn’t be surprised if this was but one of many of these types of incidents that happened on a single day aboard the station. It wouldn’t even be up to regular members of the security force to decide what cases to pursue.</p><p>“We will launch our own investigation, if you don’t mind. Since this is about the capture of two our officers, this is also an Imperial Guard matter.”</p><p>“Do what you must. If anything useful turns up, be sure to give us a call.”</p><p>With these words, Ranuhk and his hulking female companion went on to question other victims. Not sure what to expect from the station’s security forces, Le’tan had more or less decided to go back to find the group they left behind in the arcade, although he also figured that Trezka and the ship’s gunners would soon receive a call from Raeth to return to the ship to equip themselves for a rescue mission.</p><p>“Sooo… they’re not going to help us, but we’re allowed to pursue Nami and Jetreycka as we see fit?”</p><p>Looking at a frowning Houn, he noticed his companion had dropped his long tail to the deck.</p><p>“That’s what it seems to come down to, yes. I’m afraid there’s not much more we can do. Judging by their locations, Weyan and the others are still at the arcade and most other crewmembers are scattered around the station. We better report back to the ship and share our findings. Something tells me shore leave is about to be cancelled.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Where is she?” Weyan grunted. “She’s running late. She acknowledged my message that we moved up a slot and then nothing.”</p><p>Pacing through the dressing room like a caged predator, checking his wristcom every few ticks, made Trezka nervous. More than the upcoming mock battle they were about enter. They were split into teams of what should be three, and Masai and Trezka had decided to team up with Nami to take on the men, if she was still planning on entering. Judging by the other teams they shared the square room with, they would have to fight not only each other, but no less than four other teams as well. Made up of casual players and semi-professionals, sometimes the same species, sometimes mixed, they would make for an interesting set of opponents.</p><p>“Hmm, it’s not really her thing to be late,” she said, while flexing her well-defined muscles inside the battle suit that would keep track of every hit taken inside the virtual arena. Although designed to look like battle armor, the only true solid part of the piece of near-virtual clothing was the glowing emitter in the team’s color worn on the chest, from which the rest of the suit materialized. Lines in the same color ran all over the suit like photonic circuitry so it would be hard to mistake an enemy for an ally and the other way around. “She’s as punctual as they come.”</p><p>Weyan snorted.</p><p>“Her location seems off as well. Both hers and Jetreycka’s. They’re indicated as being way down below, but that can’t right. Raeth told us to stay far above the lower levels.”</p><p>Now he got her full attention. There was something about that last piece of information that itched. Flattening an ear she turned toward him, which halted him in his pace.</p><p>“<em>Both</em> their wristcoms show the same location?”</p><p>“Yeah, and their location is not current. Almost half a cycle old. Maybe their wristcoms were stolen. They couldn’t really be down there, right? Unless…”</p><p><em>Unless.</em> Crossing her arms, Trezka weighted the possibilities while Weyan’s eyes drifted toward the displays in the center of the room on which the current fight was being broadcasted. Stolen wristcoms. Valid reasons to go down below and being separated from Le’tan and Houn. A kidnapping. With only a couple of millicycles to go, she watched the numbers of the battle timer count down to zero, while trying to come up with a reason not to be worried. Only she couldn’t.</p><p>She came to that conclusion before the chrono started counting down the last millicycle and the two teams that were ahead of the rest in terms of points fought valiantly for the number one spot. The zero-G environment allowed for some spectacular moves and she was itching to get in there, but the safety of their fellow crewmembers was more important than anything else.</p><p>“Trezka to Le’tan.”</p><p>A small projected version of her crewmate appeared above her wristcom.</p><p>“Le’tan here. I’m glad you called. There’s been an incident.”</p><p>“I suspected as much. What happened to the girls?”</p><p>She heard Le’tan sigh. Judging by the unsteady projection he was on the move and seemed in a hurry.</p><p>“I’m afraid they’ve been kidnapped, together with other innocent people. We have reason to suspect the Gvort and according to station police, a criminal organization might be involved. Have you heard of something called the <em>Hazarr</em> Syndicate?”</p><p>“Sounds vaguely familiar. They don’t just stick to petty crimes. You and Houn are in way over your heads here. We need to take this very seriously. Has Raeth been informed?”</p><p>“Raeth’s trying to get the authorities to not let this go unanswered. However, the officer I talked with told me we should not hope for a full-scale rescue mission, but we are allowed to pursue our own crewmembers due to their Imperial Guard status. I’m heading back to the ship with Houn. We have to try to get them out as fast as possible.”</p><p>“Got it. We’re coming. Trezka out.” With a sigh and an annoyed grunt she looked at her companions who had listened in on the conversation and feared the worst. “I’m afraid someone cancelled our fun, guys. We might have to be pick up some real guns instead.”</p><p>The sounds of disappointment soon turned into frustration toward the perpetrators who staged the immoral act.</p><p>“We’ll teach ‘em!” Thylun growled.</p><p>“Yeah, now they also owe us a lot of creds,” Weyan grunted.</p><p>Double tapping the emitter on his chest, his battle suit dematerialized, revealing Imperial Guard red underneath. The rest followed his example and as the doors to the arena opened to let in the teams for the next round, they deposited the emitters in the holders along the bulkhead and left through the sliding doors on the opposite side.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Trezka said. “We’ll come back here after getting Nami and Jetreycka out. I’m not leaving this place without having kicked your butt.”</p><p>“Oh don’t be so sure about that last part.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Oww, my… my head…”</p><p>Even after opening her eyes, Nami could see little more than shadows in her direct vicinity. That in combination with the throbbing pain in her head which felt like the aftermath of a hammer blow, impaired her vision to such an extent that she couldn’t rely on it. But the first guess that her shaken brain came up with was ‘holding cell’. A cold hard floor. A distinctive smell. Something sour. Old sweat. A festering wound. Those were some of the things she could come up with.</p><p>And there was something else. With all the signs pointing to a holding cell, the smell of bodily secretions of various species wouldn’t be farfetched. The irony smell of stale blood. The pungent odor of urine and dried feces. Gathering strength, she pushed herself up while supporting her head which pounded in sync with the rhythm of her heartbeat.</p><p>Close to vomiting, she retched which turned into coughing as her throat felt dry and itchy.</p><p>“Errgh, I’m gonna kill someone.”</p><p>“Nami… is that you?”</p><p>The sound of Jetreycka’s voice close by snapped her mind into focus. Forcing herself to assume a sitting position before attempting to stand up, she tried to estimate if her bruised muscles would be up to the task. It seemed they had treated her rather rough in her unconscious state, something she could also derive from the ungraceful position on the floor in which she found herself. Despite the smell in the air, at least the floor of her cell didn’t feel too dirty.</p><p>There were a couple of tortured howls and moans echoing through corridor before she responded. Not being able to see much of anything, except for some weak flickering light leaking through the horizontal metal bars that formed the door of her accommodation, bolstered the sensitivity of her other senses. Now she knew where the smell came from.</p><p>
  <em>How long have they been in here?</em>
</p><p>“Jetreycka? I’m here.”</p><p>“Glad you’re okay. I figured you were out. They didn’t treat us too well.”</p><p>Nami chuckled.</p><p>“Yeah, well my definition of ‘okay’ is a little different from yours perhaps. Errw! If I get my hands on the guy who hit me on the head--”</p><p>With her vision seeming to improve, she began to discern the barred doors of other holding cells in the dimly-lit corridor. Her conversation with Jetreycka triggered responses from other captives. Most of these were distorted sounds of agony that were undecipherable for her universal translator, an indispensable piece of technology in these situations, and the only thing they hadn’t taken from her.</p><p>“Hey, hey you,” someone hissed from one of the cells opposite to hers. “You’re new right? Where did they jump you?”</p><p>“Shut <em>up</em>!” she growled.</p><p>The tone of voice of whatever creature it was didn’t give the impression that he or she was in a sane state of mind. Unable to tell how much time had passed since the act, she wondered how long it would take for their captors to show themselves.</p><p>“It smells disgusting in here,” Jetreycka complained. “They must’ve taken us down quite far. What’re they even going to do with us and all these people?”</p><p>Jetreycka’s question was a valid one, and there were various plausible reasons she could come up with. Forced labor. Potential new recruits for their criminal enterprise. Demanding ransom in exchange for their release. Only in very rare situations did the Imperial Guard negotiate with criminals. As difficult as it was, they were going to have to find a way to escape by themselves.</p><p>Her muscles tensed as a series of metallic noises, caused by the trigger of relays echoed through the corridor. With a series of flashes that increased in brightness, lights turned on. Not just the ones in the corridor itself, but also one in her cell. With it, came the sound of voices. Heavy footsteps approaching. They were about to finally meet their kidnappers and find out what they wanted.</p><p>The high brightness blinded her; her eyes having adjusted to darkness. Squeezing them shut, she groaned in discomfort, then used what little strength she had to push herself off the floor. Trying to make the quaking of her legs stop, she leaned against wall, then tried to peek through her fingers while shielding her eyes to see what was going on.</p><p>
  <em>I’m not gonna give you the satisfaction of finding me in a position like that.</em>
</p><p>In the cell opposite to hers stood a large dark-furred alien of a race she couldn’t remember the name of. The large creature’s yellow eyes pierced into hers for a tick, then turned into the direction of the sound as it let out a deep throaty growl. The voices became louder, clearer and her universal translator picked up on the conversation between whoever they were.</p><p>“Let’s see what the latest catch brought us.”</p><p>“Was informed there some promising individuals among them. Drayy mentioned uniforms. Not really a surprise considering what’s happening up there.”</p><p>“Won’t those give us trouble?”</p><p>“Oh, I’ll make sure they don’t. Let’s see, they put them… here!”</p><p>The voice of the one reassuring her colleague was female. She had recognized that from afar. What she did not expect, and even shocked her, was that the face that turned toward her outside her cell, was like her own. Not an exact copy, but Mantrin, Sogowan race as far as she could see. <em>What the…</em></p><p>She wanted to say the words out loud, but they kept hanging in her throat. With a few taps on the control panel of the cell, the Mantrinesse turned the lights inside down to a level low enough for Nami to stop shielding her eyes. At the same time the metal bars seemed to disappear, turning completely transparent to allow them to see each other better.</p><p>She had a muscular build, like all members of their species. A thick lashing tail that her companion, a white-furred Togrothian male as far as she could determine, tried to keep away from. Her pointy and shorter than average beak and almond-shaped eyes added beauty to her face. Her sharp tone and those same eyes turning into a hard stare did not detract from it at all.</p><p>“<em>Gehk!</em> Imperial Guard. This might be a bit more of a challenge.”</p><p>Crossing her muscular arms she flattened one ear, then smiled in her own mischievous way.</p><p>“Here ya got another one,” the Togrothian said, standing in front of what had to be Jetreycka’s cell.</p><p>She heard Jetreycka growl in response, followed by a tail beating against a bulkhead and the scratching of claws. She felt the same, yet the appearance of a member of her own kind revealing itself as the enemy held the anger at bay. <em>What happened to this woman that she seemed to enjoy members of her own species suffer like this?</em></p><p>“Oh, you’re a beauty,” she said, changing to a much softer tone. “Don’t see Fjetanha around her too often. What’s y’r name sweetheart?”</p><p>“You first,” Nami bit back.</p><p>She felt her claws extend in a reaction to the woman’s condescending manner of speech. No matter what she was going to say, she couldn’t trust any of it. These people were criminals. Her training told her that anything they said was in its definition a lie, unless proven otherwise. She was not going to cooperate with them in any way, nor was she going to be submissive. Her adversary shrugged.</p><p>“Fine. It’s not like it’s going to be of any use to you. It’s Seylah, and I’m going to make things real simple for you. In fact, I’m going to give you a choice.”</p><p> “Oh yeah?” Nami scoffed. “Something tells me none of the options are gonna get me out of here.”</p><p>“That depends.”</p><p>Whatever her deal was, Seylah seemed to enjoy playing mind games. Revealing as little information as possible. Hinting at a chance of being released. The indirect approach gave Nami more time to assess what they were up against. Assuming they were both part of more than just a gang of crooks, they weren’t as stupid as to flaunt it. She wore a simple pair of tight-fitting black trousers and matching shirt. No patches or logos, nothing out of the ordinary. Her companion seemed to go about the same way. That way they could pass as civilians and mingle with the enormous crowd above without raising suspicion. The way the kidnapping was executed was clear evidence that they had their ways to avoid the authorities.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>Seylah smiled.</p><p>“Like I said, it’s simple. You can either serve as entertainment or earn your way into our ranks and regain your freedom. Either way, you’re gonna have to fight for it.”</p><p>
  <em>Fight for it… So it’s going to be like that eh?</em>
</p><p>She kind of suspected what Seylah was hinting at. Entertainment could mean just about anything in this cruel underworld. But fighting for a place in their midst meant she was either going to have to fight the other prisoners, or one of their best to see if she would make a good addition as a recruit. Seylah shook her head and laughed.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re definitely the fighter type. Whaddaya say? Ready to give it a shot? I’ll be rooting for ya.”</p><p>If that was the way it was going to be, it wasn’t much of a choice. It was a way to stall for time though. She didn’t know if Le’tan and Houn had also been captured, but if they managed to escape their clutches, they would’ve alerted the rest of the crew by now. Raeth would not let this go unanswered and do anything to get them back. From what she had seen so far, she knew he was that kind of guy.</p><p>“Fine,” she hissed.</p><p>Seylah chuckled.</p><p>“I knew you’d be like that. Your friend can join in too. Just one little thing before we go.”</p><p>Uncrossing her arms, she tapped the control panel again. Opposite to the basic bunk bed and next to the toilet that seemed designed to accommodate as many different species as possible, a small panel opened up in the bulkhead. Extending from it, was a small contraption, its most prominent elements being two U-shaped plateaus. With a sigh she placed her arms into the contraption, a set of manacles fastening themselves around her wrists.</p><p>“You’re that worried about me, eh?”</p><p>“Just a precaution. It’d be a shame to have to knock you out again.”</p><p>Whistling through her teeth down the corridor, Seylah tapped the panel once more. The horizontal bars of the cell returned to their non-transparent state, then retracted in both directions to clear the way. The approaching footsteps announced the arrival of two more guards, one of them another Togrothian, with deep black fur, the other a gray-furred Lepori, both wearing body armor and carrying rifles.</p><p>The Togrothian made a sound like a bark while greeting his colleague. The Lepori, a rabbit-like alien with its enormous feet and powerful hind legs stamped on the floor, flicking its huge ears while baring its long incisors in a challenging gesture. As she knew, Lepori were warlike creatures, living in large communal hives on their home planet. Contrary to most other species that became part of the larger galactic community, they still engaged in the occasional war amongst themselves to determine which community or band of communities would rule for a period of five cycles.</p><p>With her captors making room for her to exit the cell, nodding in the direction where they wanted to guide her, Nami did as instructed with some reluctance. After stepping into the corridor, she saw Jetreycka being released as well as two other prisoners. Eyeing her crewmate she knew they were thinking the same thing. Survive until the rescue attempt was their best bet for now.</p><p>“Okay, time to move.”</p><p>“Raaarrghh!”</p><p>With a loud roar, the huge dark-furred alien with the piercing yellow eyes threw himself against the black Togrothian with an overwhelming display of force. The dog-like creature was forced with its back against the bulkhead, unable to fire his rifle or do much of anything. Growling and snorting he let its more primitive instincts take over and buried its sharp teeth into the meaty shoulder of the other alien.</p><p>His assailant roared once more as he drew blood, losing just enough strength to be pushed off. Before he could regain his senses, the white canine pushed a button on a remote. The prisoner began to shake violently all over its body as the manacles sparked, releasing their paralyzing energy. Collapsing on the floor, his body spasmed until he was on the verge of passing out.</p><p>“Knock it off!” Jetreycka yelled, her ears flattened in anger.</p><p>“Enough,” Seylah commanded. The torture stopped. The injured guard stood over the alien’s body, blood and saliva dripping from his panting mouth, dark patches glistening on the fur coat of both. Seylah shook her head. “Why do things have to get so messy? Save it for the pit will ya?”</p><p>“Get up!” the guard barked in frustration, kicking the alien back on its feet, while pointing the rifle.</p><p>After a somewhat slow recovery, the group began to move, the two canine guards leading. Seylah and the Lepori followed at a slight distance. The route they followed seemed to take them up higher. The lower levels of the station were a network composed of maintenance tunnels, abandoned living spaces for construction crews, reactor rooms and storage bays. All leftovers from when the station was being constructed and used its own power sources until the completion of the solar collector. Whatever they were doing down here, they had revitalized this forgotten part of the station and turned it into a center of illegal activity.</p><p>The living spaces and reactor rooms had become quarters, many of them luxurious in their interior design and use of materials as far as Nami could determine by glancing inside some of them. The storage bays were successful copies of the topside arcades and lounges. On their way to wherever they were taking them, they came across people of many different species, enjoying the riches of an abundant life in the shadows.</p><p>“You’ve built quite the place for yourselves,” Nami said over her shoulder.</p><p>“It’s gonna get better,” was Seylah’s calm response.</p><p>For some reason she seemed amused with herself. They seemed to guide them in the direction of the sound of a cheering audience. The tunnels and spaces on the lowest levels felt small and cramped. The one they followed now was like an avenue in comparison, offering access to many other rooms and passageways. At the end, a round theater, in its design not unlike the one in the zero-G simulator but smaller, many of the seats occupied by a clamoring audience. As they came closer, she saw what this was all about. What they were up against.</p><p>The corridor ended into the theater at about half the height of the grandstand, offering access to all rows by sets of stairs. The fights in this arena however had nothing to do with fun, not for the combatants at least. The floor of the pit was covered with light-colored sand. The two exhausted aliens in the middle beat at each other, tore at each other, using fists, legs, claws, teeth and other natural weapons they had at their disposal. Trails of blood dotted the sand as wounds bled. A horrific sight, and one that made her legs refuse to move further, like the others as they walked past the edge of the walkway from which they looked down into the pit.</p><p>“Move!” The Lepori grunted, planting the tip of his rifle into her back. “You’re not here to watch.”</p><p>Growling in response, she moved on, guided to a backroom of the arena, a sharp contrast to the extravagance of the places they just left. Gone were the multi-colored mood lights. The lavish decorations and furniture. The abundance of food, drinks and stimulating substances consumed in the lounges. Where they ended up looked more like the dungeons from down below.</p><p>The slight flicker of the yellow lights that distorted the colors, making the different colored stains on the deck and bulkheads stand out even more. Some of these glittered moist, having been applied only recently. Most fighters shared a common space, with hard metal benches, tending to fresh wounds and other injuries without medical supplies. The more dangerous individuals were locked in separate cages. Their sounds of aggression got louder when the entered, directed at the armed guards.</p><p>Since no one wanted to deal with guarding the prisoners themselves, they were being watched over by robotic guards standing in the corners. These weren’t even decrepit old security models, but well-equipped Enforcers, observing the small crowd with the eye-like sensors in their heads. They did not carry any visible weapons, which someone could try and take, but the shiny exterior concealed a powerful array of equipment. That in combination with their mechanical strength was more than enough to keep things under control.</p><p>“What will it be?” Seylah asked the new group of four in general. “Are you gonna behave? Or is the cages for you?”</p><p>Nami didn’t know if it was her tone, or all the horrible things she had seen so far. Something snapped. This torture. This entertainment at the cost of innocent lives was the worst of their crimes. And they were getting away with it. <em>Why?</em> Why had no one put an end to these activities?</p><p>“You’re insane,” she bit back. “What screwed up your mind so much that you enjoy watching even your own people suffer like this? We can take you back. Get you out of here.”</p><p>Seylah’s response was swift as lightning. Within two ticks Nami felt a clawed hand around the base of her throat, her back slammed against the nearest bulkhead. She couldn’t keep the back of her still hurting head from connecting with the hard metal. Feeling slightly dizzy she watched Seylah’s copper-colored eyes glitter, her beak so close to hers that she could feel the warmth of her breath.</p><p>“What makes you think I even <em>wanna</em> get back?” she hissed. Nami figured the look on her face must’ve resembled something close to astonishment, for she felt Seylah’s iron grip soften somewhat.</p><p>“W-What’re you talking about?” Nami panted, resisting the urge to hit Seylah on her snout with the manacles around her wrists.</p><p>Seylah released her grip, doing a small step back.</p><p>“Not a clue do you? No surprise there. They got you nicely wrapped around their corrupt fingers, don’t they? I don’t blame you for that. Do your part. Earn your future. It almost sounds too good to be true.”</p><p>“Listen, we can <em>help</em> you. The Empire--”</p><p>Seylah laughed. A twisted laugh without actual joy.</p><p>“What did the Empire <em>ever</em> do for me? They’re too busy covering up their dirty little secrets. Not the Emperor, mind you. No, Emperor Zahn is a good guy. The people love him. He wants nothing but the best for the people he’s supposed to lead, unaware of the kind of puppet he really is. It’s the smaller, but still significant positions, filling their pockets through fraud and deceit. The mayors, the governors, even the justice system is corrupt.”</p><p>“If you have proof of this, then let’s do something about it.”</p><p>“My parents <em>did</em>!” Seylah shouted. “My parents <em>had</em> proof! They were about to expose that the governors of a number of provinces stole tax money, then tried to blame civilians for it. Do you know what happened? They were stripped of honor. Got thrown in jail for crimes they didn’t commit. And those bastards got away with it, because they could simply pay the Justice Triumvirate to keep things under wraps.”</p><p>Nami didn’t know how to respond. This was no made up story. Seylah’s face was a picture of conflicting emotions. She didn’t want to show weakness in front of any of the people around her, but her eyes glittered in a different way than before.</p><p>“Enough of this,” Seylah decided. “You’ve got other things to worry about.”</p><p>With the push of a button, the manacles around their wrists sprung open and were being collected by the guards. Without any further exchange of words, Seylah’s squad left, leaving them to fend for themselves. The fight in the pit was still going on, as they could see on the two displays integrated in two opposite walls of the rectangular room.</p><p>“You all right?” Jetreycka asked, massaging her wrists.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Nami replied, while rubbing her throat.</p><p>The room was a picture of despair. Many prisoners, degraded to being gladiators, were injured. There was no medical help. No way to clean themselves up. They were under guard. And there were two sealed exits that both seemed to lead to eventual but certain death.</p><p>“We have to find a way to get out of here.”</p><p>The room vibrated with the clamoring of the audience of the neighboring arena. Looking at one of the screens, one of the fighters seemed to have bested his or her opponent, which laid face down in the sand.</p><p>“We’ve been gone for a while. Everyone on the <em>Myr'shala</em> probably knows were down here. I’m sure Trez’ will be here any moment to blast us out.” She tried to sound of herself, but she knew it all came down to how long they would be able to stay alive. They had to give it their everything and stall for time in any way possible. “Let’s try not to get picked next.”</p>
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